


That One Week

by saucisson



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-03
Updated: 2014-08-03
Packaged: 2018-02-11 14:53:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2072433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saucisson/pseuds/saucisson





	That One Week

There was that one week, before it unraveled again.

One week from Terry being hauled back off to prison to serve out the rest of his term. One week after the the boys sat on snowy car hoods feeling for broken bones, cuts, and bruises, sharing a flask. One week from Mickey pressing the nuclear button and blowing up life as he knew it.

Ian goes home with Mickey that first night. Sveltana comes with them, shocked into silence, reassessing her position and her options now that leverage against Mickey had been smashed to pieces with the swing of a fist and the spray of blood. She and the baby move into Terry's room, Mickey already claiming their room for himself -- and Ian. The boys spend an hour in the bathroom, showering in warm water to rinse off the blood, cleaning and bandaging each others' cuts. They recount Mickey's words to his father, bent over the hood of the car. Ian says it turned him on. Mickey laughs, but Ian sees his fear all the same.

Mandy comes home from her shift to their bloodied faces, hears the story, feels herself relax with the understanding that "dad" was back in the slammer. Mickey meets her eyes briefly then drops his head again. This is too much, he has to do this in pieces.

"You need ice?" Mandy asks, turning away to get some before Mickey can even nod. She returns, ice in a plastic grocery bag wrapped in a dishtowel. Mickey recoils from her attempt to apply it.

"Fuck off," he mutters through swollen lips. She hands the bag to Ian, watches Mickey relax into his touch. She misses Lip.

They go to bed that night, together, towels over the pillowcases in case the bleeding starts again. They sleep with clasped hands and feet touching, too sore for anything else, but its enough. Just them alone together, in a big bed, behind a closed door.

Svetlana looks terrible the next morning, up with the baby three times in the night. She drinks coffee and chain-smokes at the kitchen table, rocking the baby in a bassinet with her foot. Ian is up first. She eyes the bruises blossoming along his ribs as he enters the kitchen.

"I'm sorry you hate me," he tells her. She glares at him and lights up another smoke. "Hi baby!" he says to Yevgeny. "Is there coffee?"

"You want coffee, you make it," she replies. "Is my husband still alive or does he bleed to death in his sleep?"

Ian dumps more coffee into the machine and gets another pot brewing. "I try didn't ruin your life," he continues. "Just so you know. At least not on purpose."

Svetlana considers this.

"I am going out," she declares. She scoops Yevgeny into her arms and marches into Terry's -- her -- room to get dressed. Ian pours two cups of coffee, puts extra milk and sugar into one of them and brings them into Mickey's -- his -- room. They spend the rest of the day in bed, nursing their aches and thinking about how things have changed. In the afternoon they switch from coffee to beer, and order a pizza. Svetlana comes home late, does not speak to either of them.

Mickey's uncles come by the the next day. They sit at the table drinking beers and admiring their nephew's fat lip.

"You got some pretty good licks in there, Mick," Uncle Paulie says. "And your, uh... that, uh... you know. Him too."

"I brung you pierogis," Uncle Donnie says, gesturing at the tupperware container on the table. "Tina made them, says they'll be easy to eat with that busted mouth of yours."

Mickey is silent, he can't meet their eyes. He's still waiting for the axe to fall. Ian comes home and stops short when he sees them, his face falls and fists clench, ready for round two. The uncles appraise him. Uncle Paulie looks back and forth between him and his nephew, still puzzling it all out. Uncle Donnie waves Ian over, cracks a beer and hands it to him.

"Sit down," he says. Ian sits.

"So you guys, huh?"

Ian nods.

"Huh," Uncle Donnie says. They drink their beers.

"Nice shiner," Uncle Paulie says. 

"You hit me with a chair!" Ian replies. Uncle Paulie just shrugs.

"You head-butted my brother, what was I supposed to do?"

Ian looks at Mickey, who is looking down and shaking his head, a tiny smile daring to curl one corner of his mouth.

They drink more beers. Uncle Donnie asks Ian about the Army, Ian tells him some of the truth of it, and a few little lies. He thinks the uncles have Mickey's back, but he doesn't want to risk anything by being reckless. Uncle Paulie announces that he has to go soon, Leslie will throw a shit-fit if he's late for dinner again. He and Uncle Donnie exit, leaving the two boys alone. They have the pierogis for dinner. When they go to bed this time they can kiss a little, and Ian's hands find Mickey's cock hard through the thin fabric of his shorts. He gives Mickey a quick handjob, tissues at the ready. Mickey stares into Ian's eyes the whole time, just until the very end when they close as he comes, and he feels Ian's lips on his, swallowing Mickey's groans. Mickey reaches for Ian to reciprocate, thrills to the feeling of Ian's hands on his arms, tightening as he gets closer to coming. Ian is nearly silent when he comes -- probably years of being sneaky about jerking off in a house full of Gallaghers.

Mickey installs a lock on their door.

Their cuts begin to heal, though Ian's ribs are still pretty sore. Ian wakes Mickey up with a blowjob, and Mickey reciprocates in the shower, Ian's hands braced against the wall under the showerhead so he doesn't fall over. Mandy is pissed, she needs to get ready for work. She rolls her eyes at Ian as he emerges, still breathless and glassy-eyed, with Mickey.

"You guys are such assholes," she mutters.

The Aunties come over after hearing the story from The Uncles. They have to see for themselves. Tina and Leslie drink vodka and tonics and chatter about "that queer boy" that they knew in high school, the one who moved away to California and his family never heard from him again. They cluck over that and turn back to Mickey and Ian with suspicious looks on their faces.

"I couldn't afford a bus ticket to Des Moines," Ian assures Aunt Leslie.

"Oh I know!" Aunt Tina declares, picking up a conversation thread that died a half an hour before. "That one on 'General Hospital'. He's a queer!" She looks at Ian. "Do I say queer? What do I say? I don't know. Its not faggot, that's like a mean word nowadays, right?" Ian nods. He knows she means well.

"Gay is fine," he says. "Or queer, I kind of like that. I think it wasn't OK, but now it is again." He glances at Mickey, who is looking down again and bouncing his knee. "Have another beer, Mick," he says and claps him on the shoulder as he rises to refresh their drinks. Ice clinks as The Aunties shake their nearly-empty glasses at him. Two more for the ladies while he's at it.

They drink their cocktails and nibble on the deli tray that Aunt Leslie brought. Do the gay boys like deli? She wasn't sure, and hoped she didn't do something wrong. The ones on TV seem to like that fancy stuff that looks like it was piped out of a cake-decorating bag, and something called arugula. Tina said she was being ridiculous, everyone likes deli. Tina brought them a chicken casserole for dinner, the kind she makes with paprika and pimientos and the crushed Ritz crackers on top. Mickey always likes that one.

Ian watches Mickey's family close its ranks around him. His brothers don't know yet though. He worries a little about what will happen then, but with The Aunties firmly in Mickey's camp he hopes it won't be too bad.

They make love that night. Mickey thinks those words in his head but won't say them out loud, too fucking lame and stupid. Still, he thinks, this is what people must mean by it. He melts under Ian's tongue, feels chills along his body where Ian's mouth presses wet circles. He strokes Ian's hair, face, arms, body. They kiss, Ian grips him and breathes hard into his ear, whispers his name in the rhythm of their bodies moving together. They come almost at the same time. Ian comes first, hands under the small of Mickey's back, pushing deep into him. The spasm of Ian's body and wordless "aaaah!" triggers something in Mickey, he pull's Ian's hand up around his cock and lets Ian take over, strokes matching Ian's own quick thrusts. He comes all over both of them and they lay together afterwards, just breathing and kissing and smiling blearily at each other.

Eventually they separate, Mickey gets up to get a washcloth and two beers from the fridge. Svetlana has come home at some point, Yevgeny's stroller is in the living room. Mickey doesn't care. He feels happy.

She asks him the next morning if he loves Ian.

"Maybe. I don't know," he stammers.

_Yes._


End file.
